Politics

Santa Clara Supes Consider New Expense Policies

by Peter Jon Shuler
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December 18, 2012 — 7:36 AM

The Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors is scheduled Tuesday to consider an overhaul of its expense policy for staff and elected officials. The action comes after accusations that Board President George Shirakawa charged thousands of dollars of personal expenses on a county-issued credit card.

The new policy would restrict use of so-called "procurement cards" or "P-cards," issued by the county to pay for business expenses. Acting County Counsel Lori Pegg says one change will clarify when the card can be used.

"We found that a number of users of the P-Card would use the P-Card occasionally for personal use and then reimburse the county," said Pegg. "We're making clear that is not going to be acceptable in the future."

Pegg says the new policy also sets up a review system for elected officials, in order to catch irregular or disputed charges more quickly.

Supervisor Shirakawa has described the probe into his spending as, in his words, a "political lynching", but he is reimbursing the county for disputed expenses.